Soothsayer
by bonewishes
Summary: Head too full of memories, hands raised to kill. Soothsayer, child-pawn. Uzushio-born without the sea. [semi-SI!OC; male!oc]
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Soothsayer

 **Summary:** Head too full of memories, hands raised to kill. Soothsayer, child-pawn. Uzushio born without the sea. [semi-SI!OC; male!oc]

 **Rating:** T (potentail to raise to M in future chapters.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, and maybe that's a good thing.

 **Warnings:** none in this chapter, but as a catch-all expect canon levels of violence as a primary thing along with harm to children and Konoha typical neglect and bad decisions.

 **A/N:** completely indulgent oc, completely indulgent fic. i say semi!si-oc because katsura knows things, but he's in no way model after me unless you count that he's my own oc. he's just a kid that knows a lot and can't make sense of it half the time.

 **originally published:** aug. 17, 2018

 **edited:** jan. 10, 2020

* * *

 _ **chapter one**_

* * *

There's something serene about being underwater that Katsura's never gotten tired of: the all encompassing blue, the simplicity of just floating-drifting, the sound of his blood rushing through his ears. There's always a burning in his lungs that comes on quicker than he'd like, but he stretches at each time. A little longer, a little longer, and longer still until his lungs are fit to burst.

He'd do the same here if was able, but there's a muted dissonance of voices that floats down to meet him. It's so easy to lose himself when he's this disconnected from the world, but he knows he shouldn't stay for any longer. His lungs can't handle it-for one, and he's sure that Iruka-sensei is ten seconds away from jumping in to make sure that a student hasn't drowned on his watch.

It's always harder swimming back up than letting himself sink or float; the water is a heavy drag to his limbs as if it doesn't want him to leave. _Don't leave, don't leave_ it might say, but Katsura breaks the surface of one of Konoha's many lakes and takes a breath of air. His lungs burn. Then soothe. Then settle. He brushes his hair out of his face and swims back to the shore, not surprised he's the last one out again.

"Four minutes even." Iruka-sensei says as he hands over a towel, not sure if he should be impressed or worried; Konoha isn't Kiri after all. People here prefer the height of trees to the water's depth. "Good job Katsura-kun. Go dry off, we'll be leaving in a few minutes."

Katsura bobs his head in rushed show of thanks, wraps the towel around his shoulders, and walks over to Hinata. His distant cousin smiles when she sees him, small though it may be, Katsura will take it. It's hard to tell they're related in any way and the only thing marking them such are their dark hair and pale eyes, though even that's a stretch because Katsura's are a honeyed gold and he actually does have a visible pupil, side effect from being so removed from the main family as he is.

Hinata enjoys the idea of them being cousins though no matter how diluted the blood is, and Katsura is sure she likes to pretend they're closer in blood than they really are, so he doesn't ruin her fun. He doesn't mind either way because she's sweet and polite and something wonderful under that layer of anxiety of hers. She just needs a push away from judgmental eyes is all.

"How'd you learn how to hold your breath for so long?" She asks, pale eyes bright with wonder and maybe some parts amazement. He always beats out the class when it comes to breathing exercises, after all.

Katsura leans on her shoulder before answering; a small show of affection he's sure she doesn't get back at home, not like she should. "Dad said I knew how to swim before I could crawl, so we put a lot of stock in making sure I could last in the water instead."

He doesn't remember the original conversation, but there's a redux of it he recalls:

" _It's the Uzushio in you_." His dad had said prideful and happy with gold eyes gleaming as he scrubbed Katsura dry of lake water. " _All of us knew how to swim in her waters before anything else, and she doesn't forget blood, no matter how far away they might be."_

Katsura always likes it when his dad talks about Uzushio— the home he had to leave at an age only a bit older than Katsura is now. He gets melancholic in a wistful way as he recalls the place of childhood described as pretty as if it were a dream and just as unobtainable these days. Now all that's left of it is the Uzushio quarter in Konoha, scattered groups of others in different nations, and special fuuinjutsu, some of which is tattooed on his dad's skin in places: blood and ink, memories and memorials.

"How long did you get?" He asks, to pull himself out of those memories, to pull himself out of the feeling of sadness he gets for never being able to truly know where the other half of his blood comes from.

"A little over a minute." Hinata admits and doesn't seem proud of it. "I need to practice more."

"Don't push yourself too much. You could drown that way."

She just nods, a motion he feels rather than sees, his focus trained on his other classmates. A group of students are continuously taking not so subtle glances at Sasuke; he's pretty in a way that Konoha tends to idolize, pale skin and dark hair and dark-eyed-would look better if he didn't scowl so much in Katsura's opinion, but that's what people love about him apparently. Ino and Sakura are going between looking at Sasuke and trying to fix their hair. Shikamaru and Chouji are sitting in a patch of sunlight while Kiba and Naruto run around them in what's probably an impromptu game of tag.

It's nice, a snapshot of peace that won't happen for a long while yet. This is the last day of class before the graduation exam, after all.

There are two firm claps of a hand, Iruka-sensei no doubt, and it takes all of three seconds for most of the students to give their attention back over to him. Everyone has a healthy fear of getting their teacher upset or annoyed, most of them do, anyway.

"Good job everyone," Iruka-sensei smiles, proud at all of them in a way that's genuine. "Here's the deal, since today's the last day of class I'm going to let you all go early since it was just final assessments anyway." At this, there's a gleeful rising murmur of voices. Iruka-sensei must clear his throat twice before they settle again. "That means do what you need to do to prepare, practice, and study. You can leave your towels here. Dismissed."

That's all the words needed before the other students are gone in different directions, towels tossed on the ground and friends chatting with each other, excitement and trepidation in the tone of their voices.

Katsura moves his weight off Hinata so he can finish drying his hair, had used the towel on her shoulder so he wouldn't drip everywhere. "You wanna come over and practice?" He knows the answer already; Hinata will say _no_ like she has been for the past couple of months, but he doesn't blame her.

"I can't. Father wants me home as soon as possible these days."

 _They won't fail a clan head's daughter_ he doesn't say for Hinata's benefit more so than anything. There's no reversed invitation for him because he isn't allowed in the Hyuuga compound, or rather he knows showing up trailing behind his cousin will be more trouble than it's worth.

She blushes, probably involuntarily since Katsura knows she isn't shy around him— stopped being so by the time they were eight and spent enough time at the academy to properly get used to each other.

"After the exam, we can get something special to eat." She suggests, but falters again. "Ah! Well, maybe not? Your parents would want to celebrate with you."

"We don't have anything planned, but I think they both took the day off." Katsura shrugs and redoes his hair in a loose braid. "We can all four go out and eat somewhere."

"I wouldn't, I wouldn't want to impose."

Katsura huffs and rolls his eyes. "It's fine. They haven't seen you in a while, and they always ask about you. I'm more worried about _you_ getting in trouble."

"Father will be busy with Hanabi that day."

"All right." Katsura nods and pulls his shirt over his head from where Hinata was keeping an eye on it. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

They part with small waves and small smiles. Katsura doesn't go home immediately though partly because he's sure no one will be home yet and another part because he needs to visit his grandmother.

. .

* * *

. .

The Uzushio quarter greets him like a second home, the wards letting him in with no resistance. It's nice here, peaceful and a little empty due to the time, but the few cousins he spots on the street greet him by name with wide smiles and bright eyes.

His grandmother's door is always open because she's old and kind and one of the most loved and respected elders in the quarter, so it's nothing for Katsura to slip in and slip his shoes off. Her home is open and inviting, traditional in style, and carrying the smell of the ocean from the fuuinjutsu written in hidden places. She told him that's what Uzushio smelled like all the time, the salty scent of the ocean and fresh flowers.

Katsura doesn't know a more comforting smell.

"Is that my wayward grandson?" He hears her voice drifting from the kitchen and Katsura follows the smell of cooking food to her.

"Hi, obaasan." he greets, pausing in the entryway of the kitchen to pet Taro, her particularly lazy Akita that's sprawled on the floor.

She pauses from her task of molding dumplings to wipe her hands on her apron, assessing Katsura with hands on her hips. "Finally, here to visit an old bird after weeks of silence."

Katsura flinches, but he knows she isn't too upset at him. Final Academy year and all that. "You're not that old." he defends, though he knows by shinobi standards that she is.

She's older than Hokage, he thinks he remembers his dad saying or around the same age. She doesn't look old either, ochre brown skin with only a few wrinkles though her hair's white as snow by now, and her skin is soft and thin. Doesn't move like someone her age, however, or complain about aches and pains, probably because she's a retired medic; her skills now used to help those in the quarter who don't feel the need to take the long jaunt to the hospital.

"Don't lie." She laughs a sound like soft wrinkled paper and shuffles over to wrap her arms around Katsura in a hug that lasts for seconds. "Now, how's that son of mine?"

"Good. He's over his cold now, so he went back to work."

"That's good." She steps back into the kitchen, Katsura following and washing his hands to begin helping; there's rice that needs to be molded into onigiri. "Izumi's always had a weak immune system even as a kid. Got it from his father's side of the family. I swear."

Katsura hums and nods, hands busy molding rice. He doesn't like when his dad is sick, but it happens often enough that he's used to it by now; nothing has been too serious anyway.

"And how's Takeshi? I heard he's been busy at the hospital."

"Apparently some kids were practicing clan techniques on each other without supervision, so their tenketsu got all messed up. Tousan's one of the few Hyuuga medics they have on staff, so he's been in charge of them."

"That should let those stick in their ass elders realize they need to let more Hyuuga's do what they want to do."

Katsura sighs, a weak protest to his grandmother's word choice, but he can't really say much since he agrees with her. "Hinata says the elders aren't really happy having to rely on him since, you know, they disowned him and all, and they're prideful. I think he'd be more smug about it if the kids weren't so young and if he didn't come home with migraines all the time now."

Grandmother click her tongue obviously annoyed now, and Katsura lets her mumble to herself about unfair treatment and botchy seals and respect. It's something he's used too by now, her contempt at the main Hyuuga family though she adores Hinata and considers her blood as much as she does Katsura.

Katsura just continues helping with the food until she has enough to feed the entire quarter by the looks of it.

"You still need medicine for your migraines?" She asks with no preamble once they're done and have everything stored in containers and then small storage scrolls. She ends up handing a few off to Katsura despite his protest and reassurance that the entire family gets fed despite varying schedules.

"Sorry," There's something about constantly asking his grandmother for this that makes him feel a bit of shame as if he's using her even though she's been helping him since he was six and first complained about them.

"Bah," She waves her hand, the ring on her finger catching the light of evening sun as she does so. "Don't worry about it. I'll even whip up something for Takeshi. Gods know he won't ask for help himself, damned Hyuuga pride of his."

While his grandmother putters around up the stairs, Katsura sprawls on the engawa that opens to the backyard, spread eagle on the wood and lets the coolness of the floor and the breeze ease his headache while he waits. Taro plops his heavy head on his stomach and whines up at him with soulful brown.

"I'll be fine." He whispers, scratching the dogs behind his fuzzy ears.

He's been getting migraines since he was six after all, for as long as he can remember, really. He knows exactly what causes them and his grandmother does too; she's the only one that knows.

 _Soothsayer_ she had whispered after he was seven and told her about all the knowledge in his head, about the future and past and histories he shouldn't know. _Poor child,_ she had cooed and held him close when she realized all that knowledge is the reason why he couldn't remember the first six years of his life after he went missing in the forest for three days and showed up with a different flow of chakra and confused eyes. Important things pushed out less important things apparently— the brain can only hold so much.

It left Katsura lost and confused for months in his own skin and sometimes still; only things that were a familiar comfort to him were the sound of his parents' voices and the smell of the ocean.

. . .

* * *

 _ **chapter one**_

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **2020 update** : returning readers, thank you so much for coming back! new readers, hello i'm just here for a good time!

Katsura has two dads and all you need to know is that one is trans & that more lgbt+ themes/headcanons will be present in this fic because i want to paint the universe (in my fic) as one that's pretty accepting in that regard. it's not one without discrimination, but its focus is on other social & political things, so that's that.

the only criticism i will be taking is if it's constructive, so that's all there is to it. now onto something else.

katsura's not an uzumaki because i think it's dumb that the uzumaki seem to be the only family from uzushio.

I'm really tired of oc fics that start from Birth since then it's just boring baby days and not that interesting academy days and oh gosh! You're a genius, please graduate early and be a toddler wielding a knife. So here, we're starting in the thick of things so hopefully, it won't drag on too much besides the developing beginning chapters kinda?

I know what I'm doing with this fic and I'm very excited since i love katsura and i personally think he has a lot of potential to be an interesting and unique oc. so pls stick around if you can! this chapter was actually supposed to be longer but then i wrote the last line and it seemed perfect to end it on!

Thanks so much for reading the first chapter please leave a review on your way out if you have the time and energy!


	2. Chapter 2

**Rating:** T

 **Warning(s):** none! only soft things happen in this chapter; aren't we glad.

 **A/N:**

ya girl has graduated college so hopefully this means more regular updates for things now, especially this story because i have a lot of things planned while also simultaneously being someone who plans as they go. so, we'll see!

 **originally posted:** dec 26, 2018

 **edited:** jan. 10, 2020

* * *

 _ **chapter two**_

* * *

Katsura is twelve when he makes the transition from child to adult-that is, he's twelve when he graduates the Academy and becomes a genin, becomes a shinobi, becomes a soldier to fight for Konoha. He doesn't feel any different, not really, probably because he hasn't gone on any missions yet and doesn't even know who his team members are. His parents are proud though, as is his grandmother, and his various aunts and uncles and cousins all in the quarter. He's the only one graduating this year, after all.

He doesn't quite know what to do with this yet, this odd in between place of being a technical adult but still heavily reliant on his parents because he lives with them, and he knows that they still have much to teach him as he climbs the shinobi ranks. That's what his dad has always told him anyway, that Katsura has a lot to learn about being an Arashi, about being one of Uzushio's children even though Katsura has never even seen the sea. Konoha is too deep in the woods for anything other than lakes and rivers, and he can tell by his dad's tone of voice that it isn't near the same for him.

"You'll visit the sea one day." His dad tells him the morning Katsura is set to get his team assignment.

It's a calm morning despite the anticipation Katsura feels curling in his stomach and buzzing under his skin. He's partially soothed by his dad carefully weaving a silver ribbon through the small, single braid that follows the curve of his ear.

"You mean for a mission?" Katsura asks and hopes in small degrees.

"More than likely." His dad answers. "When you see her, you'll know why the people of Uzushio love her so much, why we praised and feared her in equal measure. Konoha doesn't have the same reverence for nature, I've noticed. Drives your grandmother insane on most days."

It makes sense; Katsura knows his grandmother is old and is more loyal to Uzushio than she'd ever be to Konoha. She never agreed to fall into their shinobi ranks like those younger than her, like Katsura's dad decided to do since he was just a genin when he was brought over.

Katsura hears a soft cling of metal and feels the end of the braid drawn tight with something so it stays. "What're you putting in my hair again?"

"Just a small something to show your new status. It's more Arashi tradition than Uzushio. You'll get different things that can be more readily used during a fight when you have more lessons under your belt."

He nods and thinks of his dad's tattoos and his grandmother's weapons stored in her jewelry box and how she always has at least one chakra conducting item on her person at all times just hidden in plain sight.

"And you're all set." His dad announces, and Katsura gets up off the pillow he's been sitting on.

He doesn't know what it looks like, but his dad looks proud in a way that makes Katsura feel warm, so it must look perfect.

"Want me to walk you to the Academy?"

It's his day off, so Katsura knows the time can be spared, but he also knows his dad works hard at his job; that sometimes he doesn't get home until just before dawn breaks and then wakes up early enough on most days to see Katsura and his father off. Katsura can see the bags under his eyes now, and he knows his dad hasn't been asleep since getting home.

"Get some sleep." He insists instead, rocking forward to give a quick hug which is returned without thought. "I can tell you about my day when I get home."

"Alright," his dad huffs, looks amused as he gently pushes Katsura toward the door. "Remember to only be a shit if they deserve it."

. .

* * *

. .

There's a commotion going on when Katsura enters the classroom, something that sounds like angry and indignant screaming of a sort. He sees a group of girls surrounding someone; their shoulders are hunched and arms crossed. He can guess what happened, something involving Naruto, his brain immediately supplies, probably.

Not his business.

Katsura makes his way up to sit next to Hinata whose face is red and pale eyes flickering from the scene at the front of the classroom to her desk. She greets him with a wavering smile and fidgeting fingers.

"What happened?" he asks, just to get Hinata to talk, knows she tends to calm down once she has a chance to say her piece.

It takes her longer than a few seconds though, like she's steeling herself up for something. Katsura waits for her with a practiced patience.

"Naruto kissed Sasuke." Her tone is a whisper barely heard over the classroom noise.

"Oh." He gets the fuss; Sasuke has a fanclub and Naruto is easily the least liked of the students. It was probably an unfortunate accident."I'm surprised Naruto's even here. I thought he failed." A lie and a truth all in one; Katsura figures he has to get better at them at some point.

"Apparently not." Hinata gazes at the blond once more, now more concerned given the bruises he has. "I hope I'm on a team with him."

Katsura knows that she won't be, knows it in the same way he knows a lot that he shouldn't. Though he can probably spin it in a way that seems more logical such as Ino-Shika-Cho being a given and as is sticking the remaining clan heirs together.

It makes Katsura wonder where he fits into the equation of all this and the future he's seen. Perhaps he'll belong to a throwaway team in the end, going on with his shinobi career with little notoriety and growing distant from Hinata as time passes and the world becomes crueler. Maybe he'll die on a mission or in one of the battles; a possibility he doesn't like to think about, so he doesn't.

"Maybe." He finally says and leaves it at that; Hinata will figure it out soon enough.

He listens with half an ear as Iruka-sensei lists of teams of three, all of these names he barely recognizes until he hears his own.

"Arashi Katsura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto." Iruka-sensei finishes over the Naruto's grumbling about being on a team with Sasuke.

Immediately, Katsura knows that this is wrong. It's Sakura who's supposed to take his place, who's supposed to be on Team Seven with the other two. Who, even though the team falls apart, is the one to get stronger, a growth so exponential like a star going nova. Katsura feels sick from it and ashamed too; how dare he somehow steal her place, steal her future.

And, of course, it's Sakura who interrupts, hand raised high like fate is trying to fight to set things right through her; so much might is already affected by this, after all.

"What is it Sakura-chan?" Iruka-sensei asks, though he looks a little reluctant to do so.

"Why is Naruto on a team with Sasuke-kun?" Completely unaware that it's Katsura whose placement is wrong. "I thought teams were usually a two to one ratio for each three cell genin team. That's how they've all been so far."

"Well," Iruka-sensei sighs, a mini lesson in the works. "I know that's common nowadays, but it doesn't mean that's always the case. There are a lot of factors that go into team formations such as the number of graduates the class has, clan alliances, whether or not it's wartime, and above all, balancing."

It's Naruto who speaks next, indignant from when he stands from his seat. "I don't need that jerk to help me stay balanced."

Iruka-sensei takes it in stride though his patience is wearing thin. "Sasuke-kun actually has some of the highest grades in this class, and Katsura-kun is balanced well across the board too, so you'll need both their help. Try to get along. Now, I'd like to continue with these before lunch, please."

Iruka-sensei does get finished just before lunch, and dismisses the new teams promptly, emphasizing that they should have lunch together. Some former students leave excitedly, some at a more subdued pace, and others are reluctant to follow behind. Hinata is reluctant too, but Katsura knows the reason for that.

"Go have lunch with Kiba and Shino." Katsura insists, knocking their shoulders gently to stir her into moving. "I'll be fine by myself."

Hinata bites her lower lip, seemingly unsure either because she doesn't want to leave Katsura alone or the thought of eating with people she's barely spoken to over the years makes her nervous. Perhaps a bit of both if Katsura knows her as well as he does. So, Katsura gives her the sternest glance he can manage a little soft around the edges still because she's worried out of genuine care, always has been.

"I'll rope at least one of them into eating lunch with me."

That seems to appease his cousin just enough for her to depart and leave Katsura alone in the classroom. He decides to settle on looking for Naruto since he'd be the easiest to deal with out of the two. He knows he'd either just get outright ignored or blatantly rejected if he approached Sasuke; he's seen it happen before during class assignments that required partners.

True to his theory, Katsura finds Naruto pretty much as soon as he exits the classroom. He doesn't think too hard about why the blond trudges out of the bathroom looking partially in pain and partially relieved.

"Naruto-kun, do you wanna have lunch together." He asks in lieu of greeting.

The question seems to catch the other boy off guard, blue eyes wide and shining with confusion, like he can't fathom someone asking him to eat lunch with them. That's more than likely the case; everyone knows how Naruto is treated by a majority of the class, ostracized and laughed for the most part. Strangers don't ask him to have lunch with them.

"Don't you hang out with Hinata-chan a lot?" Asks Naruto, still looking a bit disbelieving.

Katsura's only a little annoyed by that form of recognition mainly because that means Naruto has just barely paid attention to him, that he doesn't even know his name. "Hinata is with her new team now, so there's that. I'm trying to do the same, kinda, since we're gonna be on the same team."

"Oh! You're…" He trails off, unsure and covering it poorly.

"Arashi Katsura." Katsura supplies, emphasizing the pronunciation of his name, maybe now it will stick.

"Katsura-kun! Yeah, I knew that."

He purses his lips, unconvinced, but barrels on regardless. "So, lunch?"

Naruto brightens and nods, obviously excited about eating lunch with someone. "Sure! I don't have a lunch though."

"I got extra from my grandmother, so it's fine. C'mon. It's a nice day, so we can sit outside."

Katsura takes the lead, walking them outside until he finds a sun warmed bench half covered by the shade of a tree. He takes the small storage scroll out of his pack and releases the two tier bento box. Both levels have the same food: rice and grilled fish and dumplings, so he hands one to Naruto along with an extra set of chopsticks.

Naruto eats with a sort of gusto that makes Katsura amused and a tad bit concerned, but it's otherwise quiet for the first few minutes while they eat. Of course, Naruto is the first to break the silence, mouth still full enough of food to make his words muffled.

"This is really good!" He beams, bits of rice stuck to his whiskered cheeks. "You said your grandma makes it?"

"Yeah." Katsura nods and chews a bit of fish before continuing. "She's always worried and giving me and my parents a lot of extra food everytime one of us even goes to visit. She's used to making a lot of general being the elder of the quarter. Have you ever been there, the Uzushio Quarter, that is?"

Naruto seems to pause and think for a moment before recognition of the name lights up his expression. "Sometimes, it's all the way on the other side of the village from where I live, so not a whole lot. The people are really nice to me when I go over there though, and sometimes they'll even gave me something to eat."

 _Of course they were kind to you_ , Katsura doesn't say because he knows things he shouldn't, because he knows Naruto has aunts and uncles and cousins that would love to have him if they could.

The Uzumaki were beloved in Uzushio, Katsura's dad had told him when he first mentioned that Naruto was in his class. He should have grown up alongside kin, his grandmother had raged when Katsura had told her of the way other children treated Naruto. Maybe it is a good thing that Katsura is on his team; he can tell Naruto all he knows about Uzushio in small increments, can take him to meet his parents and grandmother, and make visits to the quarter and call it team bonding.

"People are really nice there." Katsura finally says and does his best to smile. "They treat everyone like family. So, Naruto, I was pretty sure you failed the exam, so how did you get the headband?"

That makes Naruto excited enough to begin a tangent, previous conversation topic successfully dropped as he weaves a story that may be exaggerated in some parts and under exaggerated in others. He seems to glow from the undivided attention Katsura offers him, from the fact that he nods and smiles and is genuinely engaged.

It is then, in this moment, beneath the shine of the sun and soft shade of the trees, that Katsura thinks he'll be able to do this. He'll be able to survive.

. . .

* * *

 _ **chapter two**_

* * *

 **A/N:**

A little bit more of uzushio lore/village building because i love it! Katsura's braid is small enough and his hair is thick enough that it isn't immediately noticeable unless you're looking really close. He's super cute though and his dad also sports longer hair. Long hair and uzushio ties will be spoken of again in the future.

The fact that nearly every team ever in naruto only has one female and two males is absolute bullshit and i'm calling it out right here and now. Also boring and unrealistic in my honest opinion, but those of you worried about sakura and what this means for her, we'll see. She'll be fine though because i love her potential.

I didn't want this chapter to stretch on and seem boring because it probably would have been super dialogue heavy and i'm tired. We'll see more dynamics next time, so please stick around and thanks to all those coming back.

Please leave a review on the way out if you have the energy.

(also to the person who told me to tag hinata in this fic because they don't like her: one, no. two, she's more of a frequently occurring side character and ff only has 4 character slots to tag)


	3. Chapter 3

**Rating:** T

 **Warning(s):** none!

 **A/N:**

sure has been a year and that's fine, but I suddenly really missed Katsura, so I wrote this chapter and whatnot. I also edited the first two chapters a bit, so returning readers, you will probably reread them anyway, but things are a little different. not too much

* * *

 ** _chapter three_**

* * *

Lunch goes smoothly; Naruto seems to have warmed up to Katsura rather quickly—quicker than expected, really. Katsura isn't unfriendly—at least he would like to think of himself as a decent person—but interactions are hard sometimes; he falters mid-conversation often and classmates have often grown disinterested in him after a few exchanged words.

Naruto's own reciprocity leaves Katsura a little flattered, a bit dazed. Naruto's loud and brash, sure, and Katsura can see why people tend to find him annoying, but he isn't dreadfully so. He isn't the worst company that Katsura's ever had to spend nearly an hour with and neither does he seem to mind that Katsura doesn't have much to add to each new topic, gladly filling in the gaps of silence with his own words.

Naruto has worked off a good bit of that energy so far at lunch with all of the big gestures he was doing while talking, so the walk back to the classroom isn't quiet per se because Naruto keeps a steady stream of chatter about this and that, but his voice isn't bouncing off the walls of the building as it tends to do. The blond practically quiets down completely when Katsura opens the door to the classroom; they're one of the last few to show up it looks like. Some people have chosen seats in different spots, so they must have all decided to sit with their teams now.

"Let's sit together." He offers, throwing a quick look over his shoulder at Naruto before making his way across the classroom.

The seats next to Sasuke are empty, and Katsura pays little attention to the look the Uchiha gives when they slide into the spaces next to him. Katsura at least has the sense to sit between the two to hopefully mitigate any possible arguments. Not that he wants to be in the middle of anything if it escalates to something beyond glares and huffs, but that's usually not the case in the classroom.

"I'm Arashi Katsura." He introduces himself directly to Sasuke. He wouldn't be surprised if his name was forgotten; they've never spoken, as far as Katsura can remember.

He gets a look for all his trouble, an assessing half glance before Sasuke turns his attention back to the window, but not without a muted scoff and something that sounds vaguely like _I don't care._

Not surprising, not really, but Katsura is no less annoyed by it. Feels himself frowning a little despite knowing that Sasuke's bad attitude is an infamous thing or an endearing quality depending on who gets asked. Wonders if he should say something about manners and them having to at least get along because they're a team now, and there's no changing that as far as he knows.

Iruka-sensei's reappearance is a boon in that respect, wanting to get everyone back on track. He tells them that their new instructors are either just outside the classroom or will be here soon and gives them all final well wishes and such before going to sit back down at his desk.

The senior shinobi start coming in and teams begin leaving; the size of the class steadily dwindles. On either side of Katsura, both Naruto and Sasuke are quiet in their own way. Sasuke in the way he always tends to be and Naruto in a tense excitement and anxiousness that's easy to pick up and heightened more so by the fidgeting he's doing, not that Katsura is annoyed by it. He's nervous too, feels it deep and unsettling in his stomach. Can't help that it seems. He tries hard not to think about how things are already sorting themselves out to be all wrong as he watches Sakura leave.

As time passes, a person comes in and four people leave; everyone perks up at the sight of each Jounin that walks through the door, anxiously awaiting their team to be called. Katsura at least manages to send Hinata off with a small wave as she exists and is hit once again with the realization that they won't be seeing much of each other anymore. It subdues his mood again. Everything changes so quickly.

Time passes. More people leave.

Time passes. More people leave.

Time keeps passing until it's just the newly formed Team Seven left sitting in the classroom and Iruka-sensei still focusing on paperwork. Naruto's been in one spot for too long and takes up wandering around the classroom. Katsura finds himself dozing off with his head pillowed in his arms, having not slept well the night prior due to a migraine that lasted long into the night. He considered upping the dosage of his medicine but realizes that's probably something he'd have to talk to his grandmother directly about. He can only imagine them getting worse from here on out. The idea of it isn't exciting to look forward to.

He notes as he falls into a deeper sleep, the sound of voices and the door shutting once more but pays it no real mind. Hopefully, someone will wake him up when it's time to leave. Might as well spend the time catching up on rest; it's been a long enough wait already, and if vague recollections hold true, then it might be a while yet.

. .

* * *

. .

Katsura's woken by slamming right in front of his face, loud and sudden enough to startle him right of his sleep. Head snapping up but it knocks against something hard and he's immediately bending forward with a sharp intake of breath at the pain and hands clutching the back of his head

"You two are both idiots." He registers Sasuke saying and the receding sound of footsteps.

Must have been Naruto who he had to collision with, Katsura figures and waits a few seconds for the initial sting to lessen before trying any sudden movements. Peeking up shows that he's right as Naruto rubs at his chin, bottom lip red and bleeding a little from where he must have bitten it.

"Sorry." Katsura winces sympathetically, one hand still buried in his hair.

Naruto, already looking in better shape than he was a few seconds ago, shakes his head. "Shouldn't've woken you up so loudly. I didn't think you were that deep asleep. You must've been tired, huh." His eyes brighten though, a new train of thought. "Oh! Our sensei finally showed up! Told us to meet him on the roof right now."

That successfully catches Katsura's attention, knocking him out of his daze.

Finally. Finally. For better or for worse.

"Let's go then." He says and tries to ignore the sudden emergence of nerves.

He and Naruto leave the room—Naruto occasionally rushing ahead in his excitement but waits for Katsura to catch up each time he goes a little too far ahead. It doesn't take long to reach the roof, but Katsura appreciates the subtle gesture regardless, whether Naruto realizes how nice he's being or not.

All four of them are finally seated on the roof soon after. Katsura takes the time to get a good look at the person he's supposed to be following and listening to for the foreseeable future.

Hatake Kakashi, Katsura finds, is not a very impressive man at first glance. Even sitting, he's slumped; clothes rumpled and baggy in a way that seems more hastily put together than anything; his eye looks listless and terribly bored as if he doesn't want to be here doing this. It's a little disheartening to see, or maybe Katsura is reading the man wrong on some level. Then again, this isn't an assignment he chose to do. It doesn't help that the Jounin made them all wait for so long. Long enough that initial luster of it all had dimmed and dulled as the minutes ticked on.

"Now that we're all awake and here," Kakashi begins. Even his voice carries that dull boredom to it. "how about we start with introductions, the basics. Dreams. Ambitions. Hobbies. You know."

Katsura finds himself sharing a glance with Naruto, both looking over to each other at the same time. Sasuke doesn't move, either unfazed or uncaring about the whole thing, probably both.

"How about you start us off first?" Katsura suggests, head canted to the side slightly, his attention back on the Jounin. "As an example?"

"Me?" Kakashi hums, considering, but doesn't deny the request. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. I don't like talking about my likes and dislikes. My dreams for the future or none of your business. And I have a lot of hobbies."

The Genin find themselves scooting closer together—well, Naruto and Katsura end up scooting closer to each other and Sasuke is already in the middle. They all exchange none too pleased glances with each other.

"Well, he said a lot." Though Naruto says it, he doesn't seem too convinced.

Katsura clicks his tongue, pitching his voice low though he knows that the man in question can still easily hear him. "We only know his name. Wasn't much of an introduction if you ask me."

"Alright, now it's your turn." Kakashi's voice catches their attention again. He points to Naruto. "Blondie, you're up."

Naruto at least seems to be excited about the idea of talking about himself. His chest puffs with pride and back straightens just a bit as he speaks. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! My favorite is instant ramen, though I like it even better when Iruka-sensei takes me to Ichiraku. I hate the three-minute wait after I pour in the boiling water. My hobbies are pranks and practical jokes. My dream is to become the strongest shinobi in Konoha. To be the Hokage, then everyone will have to acknowledge me!"

He ends it with gusto, bright eyes in all. Very simple likes and dislikes and hobbies. A very simple dream in the grand scheme of things. It's hard to find a kid that didn't, at some point want to be strong, maybe not the Hokage exactly, but something similar. Odd how their classmates always mocked Naruto for that.

Kakashi looks a little...something, Katsura isn't sure, and indicates for Sasuke to go next.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are plenty of things I hate, but I don't see why it matters since there is almost nothing that I like." He says it all easily. Extremely bleak and dreary to hear someone say. Katsura thinks he feels something close to sympathetic. "Dreams are pointless. That's just a word. I do have something that I will make a reality. To restore my clan and kill a certain person."

Sasuke's voice is a sharp-edged thing, determined and cold all at once, like a blade ready to strike. Katsura knows, in vague bits in pieces what Sasuke is talking about, who Sasuke is talking about. He could know more if wanted, probably, if he tried to. But those memories or premonitions or whatever they are, aren't something he wants to readily tap into, fears the repercussions of tampering into things he definitely shouldn't know.

"Last one." Kakashi's voice again.

Katsura wraps his arms around his legs and does his best not to seem too rattled about all this. "Arashi Katsura. I like my grandmother's cooking and dislike being awake before the sun's up. My hobbies are…" He trails off. Shrugs. "Well, I have a few, but my main one is knitting, actually. It's calming. My dream. I don't think I have one, not yet. I'm no good at long time planning, but I'd like to see the ocean one day soon."

"That went well enough for introductions." Kakashi concludes but doesn't sound like he cares either way. "We all understand each other a bit better now. Actual shinobi training will start tomorrow."

"Already?" Naruto perks up immediately, looks practically delighted. "What's it gonna be!"

"Survival training. It'll just involve the four of us."

"Really?" There goes the excitement. "We did a bunch of those back in the Academy already."

"Oh, it'll be completely different from that." The Jounin shrugs and somehow looks amused before letting out a small chuckle slightly muffled behind his mask. "Don't want to reveal too much or you all might chicken out."

Naruto then grows indignant mixed with his rapidly increasing confusion. "Why are you laughing? We won't chicken out, right?"

His head turns to look at the rest of the team. Sasuke looks annoyed, either by the idea of doing another test or because Naruto is being loud. Katsura gives a sheepish smile; it's not a lot of support, but at least it isn't denial.

"Can't say I didn't warn you." Kakashi sighs. Expression and tone turning serious for the first time since being in the new team's presence. "Of the twenty-seven members of your graduating class, only nine of you will actually get accepted as official Genin. The rest will be sent right back to the Academy. There is a sixty-six percent failure rate for this upcoming test."

That's actually not the best thing to hear, terribly convincing whether it actually holds true or not. Konoha, after all, is a shinobi village, so there are technically more of them than civilians even if their rank don't get higher Genin. If anyone is going to pass this year, it'll be the future clan heads. Katsura frowns, not sure where that leaves Sasuke and Naruto and of course, him. Outliers of an odd sort.

"See? What did I say?" Kakashi sounds annoyingly pleased.

Katsura frowns.

"What's the point of the graduation test if we don't really graduate!" Naruto shouts, jumping up from where he'd been seated. "We all worked our asses off, so there's no point in taking another one."

"It's a way to weed out the ones without any true potential. We can only let hopeless cases go so far." Harsh, but true. Understandable in a weird way. "Anyway, we'll meet tomorrow morning at the training ground so I can evaluate your skills and weaknesses. Don't forget to bring all the weapons you'll use and don't have breakfast either. You might throw up."

"Might?" Katsura finds himself echoing.

"Oh, sorry, you definitely will." Kakashi steps forward, handing them each a piece of paper. He looks and sounds too pleased with himself for Katsura's liking. "Here, take these handouts and read them. All the stuff you need to know is there, so don't be late. That's all. You're dismissed." He disappears in a flurry of leaves and wind.

Katsura looks down at the paper, glancing it over briefly but not actually reading anything. He lifts his head, a sentence half-formed in his throat and suggestions floating around in his head but stops himself. His teammates have left alone on the roof. Kakashi's words must have gotten to them.

He sighs, realizes this will probably be harder than initially planned before he's even actually planned anything.

. .

* * *

. .

Nighttime falls and with it comes a rare dinnertime where Katsura and both his parents can sit at the table together. The whole family has weirdly conflicting schedules. One works twelve-hour, and sometimes longer, shifts at the hospital. The other works shifts at the dead of the night and into the morning. It's nice that they both managed the time to at least do this much.

"So," Izumi says once they're all seated and eating. "how'd it go?"

Katsura shrugs and takes a bit of the salmon off his ochazuke before saying, "Weird."

He knew his parents were anxious to hear about team setups since only those directly involved in the process tend to know them. He's been mentally preparing for this entire conversation since he got home but he's already exhausted by the idea of processing it all.

"Weird?" Takeshi echoes, just as confused as his husband looks.

Katsura sighs, picks at his food. "Weird, yeah."

"Did you even do stuff with your new team?" Izumi prods gently.

"Uh, kind of." Katsura can feel the steadily growing concern of his parents and wonders if he's being overdramatic. He's sure a lot of people don't immediately mesh well with their team, instructor included. "It was just introductions and preparing. The real thing is tomorrow. A test apparently."

"Hm, I guess they would do a secondary test these days." Takeshi concludes. Katsura wants to ask exactly what that means, but also that might be a conversation for later.

Izumi, unsurprisingly, doesn't seem satisfied with the lack of information Katsura is giving. Can't tell if his son is being stubborn or is just very dissatisfied with today. "Who's your sensei?"

Katsura frowns, speaking around his chopsticks. "Hatake Kakashi."

"Really?" Takeshi sounds visibly taken aback, pale eyes blinking. "That guy?"

Izumi, on the other hand, doesn't sound surprised at all. "Huh, that's why he came over."

"He came over?" The question echoed by both father and son. It's something they do a lot. Izumi is terribly endeared by his family.

"Sure did." He nods and sounds pleased with himself. "Can't exactly sneak into this house without the wards pitching a fit, so I had to let him in. Said it was official Hokage business, so I went back to sleep. I figured it had something to do with team assignments since he's been on the instructor roster for a while now."

"You know him?" Katsura asks, gaze flickering between both adults. "You both know him?"

"He's pretty infamous around the village, especially the hospital." Takeshi shrugs as if it's not a big deal. Well, all things considered, it probably isn't. "Seen him there more than a few times in the past, though that's lessened just a bit."

"Used to occasionally pass him by at work." Izumi pipes up. "Haven't seen in him in a while though."

Katsura hums. "That makes sense." Still, it's a little weird to consider that his parents know his new teacher. He wonders if they ever hung out and immediately decides that's not something he wants to think about too deeply.

"What about your teammates?" Takeshi asks once the silence has stretched for a comfortable few minutes.

"Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke." Katsura answers easily, looks up to see his parents' reaction.

They are understandably shocked by the names. Both boys are infamous in different ways, after all. Katsura isn't sure what that means for him in the long run as unremarkable as he happens to be in comparison.

"Interesting kids." Izumi finally says, the first to snap out of his shock. Katsura wonders, not for the first time in his life, what exactly his dad is thinking, what exactly he knows. And he knows a lot, has to; it's part of his job as he likes to say. "Weird set though. Or maybe not."

"I'm sure everything will be fine." Takeshi smiles, though it looks a bit tense.

Katsura knows things. His parents know things. There's a respected line of _not pushing_ that they don't cross unless it's absolutely necessary. It doesn't seem necessary tonight. Katsura doesn't care about the _whys_ right now, not yet. Not when he has to figure out the _hows_. Later though, maybe.

"You gonna invite them over one day?" Izumi steers the conversation topic with ease, and Katsura is glad for it.

"Probably?" Truthfully, he hadn't considered it, but as far as he knows, both Sasuke and Naruto live alone. It doesn't seem like a bad idea. "We're a team now. Team building and all that."

"I did it a lot with my team." Izumi continues. "It's a good way to get close to them in a low stakes environment."

"Naruto's nice, but I don't think Sasuke's too keen on making friends with me, or anyone." Katsura thinks he might sound a bit whiny, a bit petulant. Sasuke doesn't even annoy him, just throws him off.

"He might need a bit of time." Takeshi offers, soft and understanding to a boy he's never met before, probably.

"Yeah. Yeah." Katsura concedes and eats the last bite of his food before continuing. "He's just so grumpy and off-putting sometimes. I don't see why everyone made such a big deal about him at the Academy. Having an attitude isn't cute."

Izumi looks incredibly amused by the whole thing but still gives his son a comforting pat on the arm. "Not going to tell you how you should and shouldn't feel about someone, okay? Just give it time though, especially since you're a team now."

And that's the thing isn't it, the only important thing that counts in the long run. No matter what he's seen happen, no matter whatever it was that filled his head with memories that don't belong has shown him, at the end of the day, Katsura is there in Team Seven. For better or worse, it's him. It's not a weight he's sure that he can carry yet, not completely anyway. But then again, they did just start. Then again, he has time.

* * *

 **chapter three**

* * *

 **A/N:**

i'm always aware of this, but it hit me very strongly in the middle of writing this chapter but these kids are 12? they're just babies! just little babies! of course, they're a little rude and mean to each other. they aren't emotionally mature!

katsura is the most emotionally healthy in team seven and he actually doesn't do that well himself, but it's a low bar. i'm excited to get past the manga stuff hopefully after the next chapter!

 _katsura & his dads:_ he actually refers to them differently when talking to them directly & to other people. takeshi is _tousan_ and izumi is _oyaji_ , but narratively we can't really do that, so we have to settle for using names when all three of them are in a scene together. they're a nice family and i care about them!

thank you so much for reading! please leave a review on the way out if you have the time and energy. i'm grateful for anything!


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